AMP appoints interim chairman

An AMP board member will postpone his retirement to become interim chairman of the group after it announced current chairman Simon McKeon will step down.

AMP told the ASX in a statement that Mr McKeon will retire at the conclusion of the AGM in May.

John Palmer has agreed to become interim chairman until a permanent appointment is made.

“As a result, he will postpone his retirement from the board until a new chair is in place,” the AMP statement said.

Mr Palmer was appointed to the AMP Limited board in July 2007 and joined the AMP Capital Holdings Limited board’s audit and risk committee in May 2014. He retired from the AMP Life board in June 2014 after 10 years of service.

AMP said Mr Palmer has extensive experience as a director and chairman of companies in the finance and agricultural sectors.

“He has a track record of successfully leading change and reconstruction of diverse corporates in marketing, business and aviation,” the company said.

“John has served numerous companies as chairman or director, including Air New Zealand [and] Solid Energy New Zealand, and is chairman of Rabobank New Zealand.”

Commenting on his retirement, Mr McKeon said he was disappointed to leave the board due to “a change in my circumstances”.

“It has been an honour to be the chairman of AMP Limited, [and] I have every confidence in the strategy and management team and believe that AMP is well positioned to grow over the long term.”

The AMP board thanked Mr McKeon for his contribution to AMP over the past three years and paid tribute to his focus on the opportunities of future growth for the company.